tonight, the deadly plane collision in japan, just hours after a powerful earthquake rocked the country. the massive fireball as a japan airlines plane collides with a coast guard aircraft on the runway and then bursting into flames. flames filling the

cabin. all 379 people on board escaping, but five on the coast coast guard aircraft killed on the way to help with earthquake relief. how did they end up on the same runway? also tonight, the search for desperate survivors after that japan earthquake killed dozens. the major announcement from harvard's president after her backlash to her testimony about antisemitism and plagiarism allegations. the senior hamas leader killed in a blast not in gaza, but north of israel in beirut. the growing fears of a widening war. just in, former president donald trump appealing maine's decision to ban him from the 2024 ballot over his conduct around january 6th. the standoff of the colorado supreme court after an armed man breaks in and opens fire. new details in the deadly new year's crash into pedestrians in western u.n. new york. the suv packed with gas cans. and the mystery in michigan. who is holding the powerball ticket worth

$842 million. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> hello and welcome. it is good to be back with you. officials in japan tonight are piecing together the tragic chain of events that left two planes on a collision course, ending in a fiery and deadly impact on a runway at tokyo's haneda airport. surveillance cameras capture the moment of disaster as a japan airlines airbus with 379 people on board collided with a much smaller japanese coast guard plane that for some reason was on the same runway that officials say was assigned to the arriving jet. after the impact, the passenger jet continued down the runway, leaving a trail of fire. but remarkably, everyone on board the wide body jet survived and safely evacuated. tragically, five people on board the coast guard plane were killed. a pilot was the only survivor. the coast guard crew was responding to an

earthquake disaster when disaster struck on the runway. tom costello has late developments. >> reporter: fire and terror on the runway in tokyo as a fully loaded japan airlines passenger plane arriving on a domestic flight crashed into a smaller japanese coast guard plane. the massive fireball rolling down the runway. inside the jal plane, terrified passengers saw flames outside their windows, smoke rolling through the cabin. swedish tourist anton deibe was on board with his family. >> i look to the left, and i see flames all over the windows, and the plane starts to shake. and all the lights turn dark, and everyone starts screaming in japanese. >> reporter: once stopped, passengers evacuated down two emergency chutes. as airport firefighters attacked the flames, the plane's tail collapsed to the ground. exactly the kind of worst-case runway incursion the ntsb has warned about in the

u.s. after it saw many close calls in 2023. the crash happened on runway 3-4 right, precisely where the jal airbus a-350 had been cleared to land. the question for japanese investigators, why was that smaller coast guard plane on the same runway, possibly preparing for takeoff. of the six coast guard crewmembers on an earthquake relief mission, only the captain survived, now in critical condition. but all 379 people on board the passenger plane survived, including eight infants. precisely what flight crews in the u.s. and abroad train for. regardless of the size of the aircraft, the faa requires that within 15 seconds of the aircraft stopping for an accident, it must be able to start evacuating. everybody out, through the window, through the doors, in just 90 seconds. that faa rule is the global standard. >> get out, get out, leave everything! >> reporter: critical to surviving, leaving everything behind and getting out. when an american airlines plane caught fire in chicago in 2016, some passengers

still grabbed their carry-ones. >> when passengers do not follow the instructions and do not leave their belongings in the airplane, they're not only putting themselves at risk, they're putting others at risk because they're blocking exits. >> reporter: in tokyo, tragedy, but survival on the runway. >> and tom, another grim reminder of why we need to listen to the safety announcements. i understand japanese investigators will be joined by french investigators looking into why this happened. >> yeah, that's right. because it's an airbus plane, the french team will be assisting. they'll look at whether there was a communication breakdown and if the japanese pilots could even see the smaller plane on the runway, lester. >> tom costello, thank you. the day after that devastating earthquake in western japan, at least 55 people are now reported dead as rescuers race to find survivors. janis mackey frayer is in japan where the officials say the death toll is likely to rise. >> reporter: tonight,

japan's military and rescue crews are searching from the air and on the ground for survivors, trapped under buildings that have collapsed or caught fire. according to officials, at least 55 people are dead, a toll that's expected to rise from the powerful new year's day earthquake that rocked train platforms, shook grocery stores, homes, and this news station. and sent thousands across western japan scrambling for safety. japan's prime minister fumio kishida saying rescue efforts are a battle against time. on the noto peninsula near the coastal epicenter, buckled roads made it hard to reach the areas hardest hit. thousands of homes without water or electricity. "everything has fallen off," she says. "i don't think we can rebuild it again." there have been hundreds of aftershocks. the quakes triggering

tsunami warnings along japan's west coast, those warnings now lifted with officials saying nuclear power plants were unaffected. but these familiar scenes of disaster have raised anxiety here. after the devastation in 2011 when a massive magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami killed at least 20,000 and left parts of japan in ruins. the extent of the damage from this earthquake still emerging. in the quake zone, it's a race to reach those who need help. at the same time, people are being warned to stay way from their homes. officials say there is a high risk of more earthquakes this week, possibly as powerful as this one. lester? >> all right, janis, thank you. here at home, the president of harvard university claudine gay resigned today weeks after her controversial testimony before congress about antisemitism. and as she faced mounting accusations of plagiarism. erin mclaughlin has the story. >> reporter: tonight

embattled harvard president claudine gay stepping down, abruptly ending her turbulent six-month tenure as the institution's first black president, the shortest term of anyone in that position. in a letter to the harvard community, gay writing "it has become clear that it is in the best interest of harvard for me to resign, and that it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor, two bedrock values that are fundamental to who i am, and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus." >> antisemitic rhetoric when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying. >> reporter: calls to gay's hearing prompted a backlash to this response at last month's congressional hearing when republican elise stefanik pressed her about antisemitism on college campuses. >> does calling for genocide of jews violate harvard's rules of bullying and harassment, yes or no? >> it can be, depending on the context. >> it does not depend on the context. the answer is yes. >> reporter: pressure

grew in the following weeks with gay facing multiple allegations of plagiarism in her academic work. harvard initially standing by gay, but today the board accepting her resignation, saying she had acknowledged missteps, but also faced deeply personal and sustained attacks. tonight stefanik claiming credit, saying this is just the beginning of what will be the greatest scandal of any college or university in history. gay's resignation leaving the campus divided. >> i'm glad that it seems like we're moving in a direction where harvard might begin to repair its public image. >> i was flabbergasted. i was more than surprised. i was shocked. i don't think she was really given a chance from the start. >> and erin, this is now the second university president to step down after those hearings on antisemitism on campus. >> that's right, lester. the president of the university of pennsylvania resigned following backlash to her testimony, and there is now a congressional investigation into all of this. harvard has announced an interim president, alan garber. gay will stay on as professor.

lester? >> thanks very much. now to the killing of a top leader of hamas today in beirut, sparking new concerns about a wider conflict. josh lederman is in israel with the latest. >> reporter: tonight, the fiery aftermath of an apparent assassination. a senior hamas leader killed in what hamas says was an israeli drone strike on a hamas office in beirut. saleh al arouri, the deputy head of hamas on a u.s. wanted list, accused of involvement in multiple terror attacks. hamas saying seven people were killed in the strike, including two commanders. israel won't say whether it was responsible, but only one country is at war with hamas. >> israel is at war. whoever did this has a gripe with hamas. >> reporter: israel's military has vowed to hunt down hamas leaders worldwide, saying they're living on borrowed time following the october 7th hamas terror attacks that killed 1200 people. tonight, as protests erupt in the west bank, israel is bracing for

potentially massive retaliation. not just from hamas, but from hezbollah, another iranian-backed group aligned with hamas that has also targeted israel. the new israeli foreign minister stood today declaring "we're in the midst of world war iii against hamas and radical islam." an israeli official saying the plan involved local gazans or tribes handling civilian governance like doling out aid while israel controls security indefinitely. this as israel signals the war is entering a new phase with thousands of israeli troops on the way out of gaza, even as prime minister netanyahu says the war will last many more months. palestinian groups are calling for more protests tomorrow over the assassination, including in jerusalem and the occupied west bank. lester? >> josh lederman in tel aviv, thank you. less than two weeks before the start of the presidential primary season, former

president trump appealed the ruling in maine that bars him from the primary ballot there. garrett haake is following all in. garrett, what more do we know? >> lester, mr. trump's appeal calls maine's democratic secretary of state who banned him from the ballot there biased, saying she had no authority to act. last week she ruled the republican front-runner ineligible for maine's ballot, saying he was in violation of the 14th amendment's prohibition against insurrection for his actions on january 6th. tensions are also high in colorado where the supreme court banned mr. trump from the ballot, though today police say a shooting that damaged the colorado supreme court building this morning was unrelated to any threat against the judges there. mr. trump is expected to appeal that decision too, which is campaign as criticized as election interference. colorado secretary of state is also asking for the u.s. supreme court to settle all of this. mr. trump will remain on both state ballots through appeals process. lester? >> garrett haake, thanks. let's turn to the terrifying and deadly

car crash early on new year's day outside a concert in rochester, new york. police tonight saying the driver appeared to be trying to run over the crowd. here is emilie ikeda. >> reporter: tonight, new details emerging about what led to this fiery crash in rochester, new york less than an hour into the new year. >> investigators now identifying 35-year-old michael avery, saying he made at least half a dozen purchases of gasoline and fuel containers after driving to rochester and then renting an suv at the airport. later heading to reach the kodak center and the crowd come out of a concert. >> avery sped up, crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic. it appears to have intentionally been driving toward the pedestrian crossing. >> reporter: avery then struck a ride share vehicle that had been pulling out with a force that pushed both suvs into people, injuring nine pedestrians and killing two passengers in the ride share, josh orr and christina hughes, whose family

say were best friends. this tonight from rochester's mayor. >> i have been getting inundated with questions as to why this individual would choose, number one, rochester, new york, and why he would appear to target concertgoers. those are all questions that have been raised and things that we just don't have answers to yet. >> reporter: as investigators comb through avery's belongings, the fbi is underscoring. >> so far we have uncovered no evidence of ideology and no nexus to terrorism. >> reporter: police say in speaking with avery's family, they believe he may have been suffering from undiagnosed mental illness. he died in the hospital overnight. lester? >> emilie ikeda, thank you. in 60 seconds, we hear from gypsy rose blanchard, for the first time since she was freed from prison. what she is saying years after she was nvicted of having her mother killed. gypsy rose blanchard. breztd things changed for me. breztri gave me better breathing, symptom improvement, and reduced flare-ups. breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems.

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the woman convicted in the killing of her abusive mother and who was released from prison last week. now for the first time since she was freed, she is speaking out. we get more from laura jarrett. >> hey, everyone. happy new year's. >> reporter: she spent almost a decade behind bars for her role in the murder of her mother. but in less than a week since her release from prison, support for gypsy rose blanchard has only grown. >> i'm finally free. i just want to send a quick video to thank everyone for the massive amount of support. >> reporter: the 32-year-old now on parole has racked up 6 million followers on tiktok and instagram, appearing upbeat in photos with her husband, whom she married behind bars, and trying out playful snapchat filters with her stepmom. >> it's really awesome to have some family time after so long. >> reporter: it's all a sharp contrast to how she spent much of her childhood and adolescence, confined to a wheelchair she didn't need. >> things are not always as they appear. >> reporter: prosecutors say her

mother dee dee pretended gypsy rose was sick for years, falsely claiming she had leukemia, drugging her, even convincing doctors to insert a feeding tube and perform other unnecessary surgeries. >> there was also a lot of emotional and physical abuse. i started to feel like it was either her or me. >> reporter: in 2015, prosecutors say she hatched a plot to kill her mother with nicholas godejohn who she met on a christian dating website. >> i did it actually. i will make it. >> reporter: the pair were charged with murder. gypsy rose eventually taking a plea deal as authorities uncovered her chilling back story while godejohn went to trial and was convicted, all featured in a documentary hulu series, and now an upcoming lifetime special. >> i will finally share my story the way that it should be shared. >> so laura, what's

the status, the legal status of the former boyfriend? >> he actually confessed. he was found guilty by a jury at trial. his lawyers now say, though, they're seeking a new trial for him. they say he is on the autism spectrum. gypsy rose put him up to the crime, and he didn't have the mental capacity to be convicted of first-degree murder, lester. >> all right, laura jarrett, thank you. coming up, why a case of cyber kidnapping led police to a foreign exchange student freezing and alone in a snowy canyon. the warning from law enforcement, next. type 2 diabetes? discover the ozempic® tri-zone. ♪ ♪ i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had

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in utah, a chinese foreign exchange student has been found alive after officials say he was targeted in a terrifying cyber kidnapping scheme. liz kreutz now with the bizarre details and a warning from police. >> reporter: holed up alone in a tent deep in these frigid utah mountains. tonight a chinese foreign exchange student has been found safe after police say he became the victim of a suspected cyber kidnapping scam. >> he was cold, scared and relieved when we found him. >> reporter: riverdale police say 17-year-old kai zhang was reported missing by his high school outside salt lake city on thursday. his family in china said they had received a photograph of their son indicating he was abducted and that they had sent roughly $80,000 to bank accounts in china as a ransom. authorities began a days' long search assisted by the fbi and the u.s. embassy

in china, finally finding him in this wooded area new year's eve morning with little food and no heat. how is the family doing right now? >> absolutely relieved. they were terrified, believing their son was being held captive and being harmed. >> reporter: police believe kai's virtual kidnappers are in china and had been manipulating him for weeks, threatening to hurt his family. as part of the disturbing scam, they say victims like kai are ordered to isolate, and then monitor via facetime or skype and take photos of themselves to make it appear they're being held captive. what can people do to keep themselves and their people safe? >> have a planned time to talk and having code words, a code word that means you're under duress or something's not right. >> reporter: and officials say foreign exchange students are often targets of these cyber kidnapping scams. voters say if you or your family are ever threatened, go right to police. don't send money, and stop all contact with

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finally, one lucky finally, one lucky winner is beginning the new year $842 million richer. maggie vespa is in the small city where the big powerball ticket was sold. >> reporter: for millions of americans, the kickoff to 2024 called for the classics. but in this small michigan city -- >> just want two tickets for powerball. >> reporter: it's safe to say one lucky person managed to top the ball drop. millions of times over. someone bought a ticket here that is now worth more than $800 million. >> i know. isn't that insane? >> reporter: $842 million, to be act, or a lump sum of $425.2 million for the still anonymous powerball player who picked these lucky numbers drawn monday night. >> i was talking to my priest. and he said, did you win that? i said no. oh, man, we were looking for a big

contribution! >> reporter: your priest hit you up. >> yeah. >> reporter: the jaw-dropping jackpot powerball's fifth largest ever. and in the contest's more than 30-year history, its first drawn on new year's day. the mystery winner made that life-changing purchase at this family-owned food castle in grand white, michigan, an hour north of detroit. >> it's the best feeling because the community deserves it. a good way to start off the year for a big win. >> reporter: now the question, will the lucky winner come forward to ring in the new year rich. maggie vespa, nbc news, grand blanc, michigan. >> that's "nightly news" for this tuesday. thanks for watching. i'm lester holt. please take care of each other and yourself. good night.

right now, 4:30, we are tracking the news going through the bay area. live look at the radar. all that green. the rain is coming down right now.